LOS ANGELES – De’Aaron Fox had just knocked down back-to-back three-point shots to give the Sacramento Kings a 94-87 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings had closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run to snatch the momentum heading into the final period.

That was when Lakers head coach JJ Redick turned to Dalton Knecht.

The rookie wing started the fourth quarter and immediately knocked down a three-point shot of his own to halt the Kings’ run.

That shot was immediately followed by LeBron James’ offensive outburst that would carry the Lakers to a 131-127 win.

While James carried the Lakers home, it was Knecht’s shot that got everything rolling. Following the game, JJ Redick revealed what he told Knecht going into the fourth quarter, and the confident way the former Tennessee star responded to him.

“Dalton was over there in his warmups just kind of causally stretching. I said, ‘hey, are you ready to make a shot? He said, ‘I’m always ready,’” Redick said. “I wish that shot was a little more open but he has the ability to just hit tough ones.

“So all the, I think, angst that we felt in ending that quarter that way, that was a big shot.”

Knecht finished the game with ten points on 4-0f-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range in 20 minutes, the most out of any of the Lakers’ reserves.

Dalton Knecht’s rookie season with Lakers

In the weeks leading up to the 2024 NBA Draft, the Lakers were not able to schedule a workout with Dalton Knecht because his agent didn’t believe he would still be available when they were up at pick No. 17, as per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

But Knecht ended up slipping in the draft due to unfounded concerns over his age, and other teams’ loss has been the Lakers’ gain. The 23-year-old rookie has been a key player in Redick’s rotation to begin the season. He’s been the team’s most consistent three-point shooter through the first three games.

If not for Jaxson Hayes’ strong start to the season, there’s a case to be made the Knecht has been the Lakers’ best bench player. Through three games, he’s averaging 7.7 points while shooting 41.7 percent from the three-point line.

Knecht’s path to the NBA has been an unconventional one as well. He didn’t have any Division 1 offers coming out of high school and ended up playing two seasons at Northeastern Junior College before transferring to Northern Colorado. He played his final season of college basketball at Tennessee, where he exploded on the NCAA scene.

Coming into the 2024-25 season, it was probably a safe bet to imagine Knecht getting reps in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. But with Max Christie struggling to start the season, Knecht has been the team’s most dependable wing off the bench.

It will be interesting to see if he continues to play a big role in JJ Redick’s rotation as the Lakers’ season continues. So far, he’s made the case that he deserves the minutes.